The invention, in some embodiments, relates to the field of pneumatic launchers for launching projectiles at a target, and in some embodiments, to the field of less than lethal projectiles.
In the field of law enforcement, it is known to fire less than lethal ballistic (LTL) projectiles in order to impact a target, for example, to incapacitate the target, to drive the target away or to keep the target at a distance from some location.
Known LTL projectiles include rubber, plastic and beanbag and other projectiles. LTL projectiles effect a target by one or more mechanisms including by force of impact, marking (paint payload), surface agents (including irritants of the skin, eyes, mucosa such as tear gas and capsaicin), injectable agents (tranquillizer darts), and electric shock (XREP by Taser International Inc., Scottsdale, Ariz., USA).
In some cases, LTL projectiles are launched from a suitably-modified lethal weapon, for example, an adaptor is secured to the muzzle of a rifle and an LTL projectile launched from the adaptor with the help of a blank round.
Increasingly, it is preferred to launch LTL projectiles from dedicated launchers. One preferred type of launcher is a pneumatic launcher, a launcher that uses a pressurized propellant gas stored in a reservoir to propel an LTL projectile, for example, the FN303 (FN Herstal, Herstal, Belgium).
A challenge associated with the use of LTL projectiles is that of effective range.
To effectively impact targets at long ranges (greater distances), an LTL projectile must be launched with a high launch-power (typically, high muzzle velocity), a launch-power that necessarily leads to excessively powerful, and potentially injurious, impact at close ranges (short distance).
An LTL projectile can be launched with a low launch-power (typically, low muzzle velocity) to reduce the chance of injurious impact at close ranges, but this renders the LTL ineffective at long ranges.